Rotary engine.



No. 759,419. l PATBNTBD MAY 10; 1904. A. 1a. CHAPMAN.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLIoA'rIoN FILED P11025, 1904.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 10, 1904.

PATENT QEEICE.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,419, dated May 10,1904.

Application iled February 25, 1904. Serial No. 195,160. (No model.)

T0 au whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT B. CHAPMAN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Silvercreek, in the county ofChautauqua and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is aspecification. f This invention relates to rotary engines; and it hasfor its object the production of an engine of the class mentioned whichis simple and durable in construction, free in action, and by means ofwhich the maximum eliciency may be attained by the minimum eX- penditureof the power-producing medium.

To these ends the invention consists in the novel construction andarrangement of parts to be hereinafter described, and more particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a transverse vertical section through myimproved engine. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2 2, Fig. l,looking in the direction of the arrow crossing said line. Fig. 3 is avertical section taken on line 3 3, Fig. l, looking in the direction ofthe arrow crossing said line. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line4 4, Fig. 1, the piston being removed to show one of the heads of thecylinder. Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is adetached perspective view of one half of the cylinder on a reducedscale. Fig. 7 is a detached perspective view of the piston on a reducedscale. Fig. 8 is a detached perspective view of the other half of thecylinder.

Referring to the drawings in detail, like letters of reference refer tolike parts in the several figures. v

The letter A designates the cylinder of the engine, formed in twosections a a', around the circumferential walls B of which an annulus Cis held, the said sections and the annulus being rendered steam-tight inany practicable manne'r and being secured together as may be desired.Each cylinder-section is provided with an induction-port D and aneduction-port E. Passing centrally through the cylinder is theengine-shaft F, to which is secured within the cylinder the piston Gr.v

The circumferential surface of the piston is provided with two parallelrows of coinciding pockets H, which are open on the sides of the pistonand are so spaced with reference to the induction and eduction portsthat when two such pockets are held in communication with tion-port andan eduction-port each series of pockets H is furnished with such portsand the steam may be cut off at one side of the engine, if desired.

At diametrically opposite points of the cylinder one of the transversewalls J of each row of pockets H is much wider than the remainingtransverse walls, and the radial sides K of said wide walls serve as themain working faces for the steam. This, however, is not necessary; but,if desired, the said wide walls rnay be arranged at coinciding points.

The inner faces of the cylinder-heads L are each provided with acircular series of depressions or recesses M, forming, in effect, aninterrupted passage. The said recesses are arranged to overlap eachother, and when the piston revolves each recess M communicates with thepockets H in pairs successively. The induction-port and theeduction-port in each cylinderhead opens into the end recesses, whichare enlarged and provided with radial -side walls N. The enlarged endrecesses M vare separated by an intervening abutment O,

which serves to check the passage of ythe steam through the pockets H byclosing communication between any two adjacent pockets H as they passthe said abutment. A The ports D and E may be used interchangeably asinduction and eduction ports, depending as to whether the engine is tobe run forward or reversed. I have, however, designated one port as theinduction-port and the other port as the eduction-port, having referenceby such designation to the pistonrevolving in a forward direction, asdesignated by arrows in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.

The steam admitted into the induction-ports D in the heads of thecylinder enters the enlarged end recesses M and is directed into thepockets H of each series of pockets registering with said enlargedrecesses. The steam passes from the said pockets into the next recess Min the series and from the said recess into the next pocket in thepiston, continuing in its course and expanding through the successivepockets H and recesses IWI until it reaches the last pockets in the twoparallel series of pockets,` when its force is exerted against theworking faces K, which causes the piston to be revolved until saidlast-mentioned pockets reach the eductionports, where the steamexhausts. During the course of the steam from the successive pockets tothe working faces of the piston the steam also acts against` the advanceradial wall of each pocket, thereby aiding in revolving the piston. Theradial faces of the abutments O in the induction-recesses serve as thehead of the cylinder and causes the steam to be led and expand in theopposite direction, while the radial faces of said abutments in theeduction-recesses checkthe further progress of the steam within thecylinder and compel the steam to exhaust through the eduction-ports.

If desired, the recesses M may be formed in the circumferential wall ofthe cylinder, or the principle of this invention may be otherwiseapplied, without affecting the efliciency of the engine or sacriiicingany of the advantages of the invention.

By the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, itis apparent that high eciency is obtained by the expenditure of aminimum amount of steam, that the steam will be exhausted from thesuccessive pockets without the use of valves in the exhaust, that byreason of the abutment O the steam is directed in one direction only,and that the steam travels through almost a complete revolution, wherebyaperfect utilization of the expansive force of the steam is obtain ed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a rotaryengine, the combination of a casing having an induction-port and aneduction-port and being provided with overl-apping recesses arranged ina series extending from said induction-port to said eduction-port,apiston having a series of pockets, the last pocket of the series havingone of its walls serving as aworking face, and each of said recessesbeing at all times in communication with two of said pockets except whenthe space between the rst and the last pocket of said series of pocketsregisters with a recess.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination of a piston having a series ofpockets, the end pockets of said series of pockets being separated by awider space than the remaining pockets, a fixed element in contact withthe said piston and being provided with an induction-port and aneduction-port, and means whereby the power-producing medium may passfrom the induction-port through the successive pockets between saidinduction-port and the last pocket in the series, and from said lastpocket and the preceding pockets in the series out through theeduction-port.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination of the cylinder having aninduction-port and an eduction-port and being provided with a series ofrecesses, a piston having aseries of pockets each of which is broughtsuccessively into registration with the successive recesses in thecylinder, the end wall of the last pocket of said series of pocketsserving as a working face against which the steam is directed whenpassing and expanding through the recesses in the cylinder and thesuccessive pockets in the piston.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having a series ofrecesses in each head, the first and last recess of said series being'separated by an abutment to check the ,passage of the power-producingmedium, a port opening into the first recess and into the last recess ofthe series, a piston having two series of pockets, each series havingits end pocket separated by a space corresponding to the said abutment,the end wall of either end pocket serving as the working face of thepiston.

5. In arotary engine, the combination of the cylinder having aninduction-port and an eduction-port and being provided with aninterrupted passage extending from said inductionport to saideduction-port, a piston having a series of pockets, the end wall of thelast pocket of the series of pockets serving as the working face of thepiston, the said interrupted passage in the cylinder-head and thesuccessive pockets in the piston serving as a means of leading the steamto the last pocket of the said series of pockets, the steam in the saidlast pocket and the preceding pockets in the series exhausting as theypass the eductionport.

6. In a rotary engine, the combination of the cylinder provided with aninduction-port and an eduction-port and having an interrupted passageextending from said induction-port, a piston having a series or' pocketswhich regis- -ter successively with the several parts of said passage,the end pocket of the series serving as the working ace of the pistonand the end of said passage adjacent to said induction-port serving asan abutment and causing the steam to be led through the successive partsof the said passage and'the pockets in the piston registering with suchparts of said passage.

7. In a rotary engine, the combination or' a cylinder having two portscapable or' being used interchangeablyas induction and eduction ports, apiston having a series of'non-communicating pockets, and means forcausing the steam to enter and pass out of said pockets TOO IIO

successively until the last pocket in the series is reached.

8. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having aninduction-port and an eduction-port and being provided With overlappingrecesses between said ports, a piston having a series of pocketsproviding two opposite Working faces between the end pockets of saidseries, each pocket being adapted to register I0 with tWo of saidrecesses When traveling from the said induction-port to the saideductionport, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in the presence of tWosubscribing Witnesses.

ALBERT B. CHAPMAN.

Witnesses:

EMIL NEUHART, M. SEWERT.

